***POLL SHOWS OVERWHELMING SUPPORT FOR NEW MONUMENTS*** Three out of every four Arizonans support the creation of five new Bureau of Land Management national monuments established last year, according to a new poll released today by five environmental groups, including the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection. Broad support for the newly protected areas cut across party lines, ages, location and gender. In contrast to the poll’s findings, Governor Jane Hull has recommended to Interior Secretary Gale Norton that these new monuments be open to development and their boundaries be changed.

Specifically, 79% of the poll respondents opposed removing any land from the Ironwood Forest National Monument, something the ASARCO mining company has proposed. The Ironwood Forest National Monument contains some of the densest stands of ironwood trees in the state and is also an important birthing ground for the last known viable population of desert bighorn sheep in Pima County.

The poll also asked registered voters about President Bush’s proposal to open these public lands to energy development. Two-thirds of all Arizonans, including a majority of Republicans, wanted to keep new electric transmission lines and other energy developments out of these monuments.

"Designation of these national monuments has been a significant conservation achievement for Arizona, providing natural areas protection that Arizonans have been asking for" said Carolyn Campbell, Executive Director of the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection. "These poll results are certainly no surprise."

The poll was conducted in July by Phoenix-based Behavior Research Center and sampled registered voters throughout the state.

***MARANA UPZONING IN CRITICAL HABITAT – PLEASE ATTEND MEETING*** Please attend the Marana Planning and Zoning Commission meeting 6:30pm, Wednesday, August 29, to oppose a major upzoning of 515 acres located in OCCUPIED pygmy owl habitat. The meeting will be held at the Marana Town Hall, 13251 N. Lon Adams Road.

The land in question is located at the southwest corner of Thornydale and Tangerine roads. The current zoning allows for only one house per 25 acres. The developer, Stellar Homes, is asking for an upzoning that will allow one house per .86 acres. The plan currently calls for development on 103 acres, and these 103 acres will accommodate approximately 440 homes. The other 412 acres will be left as "undisturbed open space." This developer will also be seeking its own Habitat Conservation Plan, and their current plan will allow them to adhere to the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s 80/20 rule, whereby 80% of the area is preserved as open space, and only 20% is developed.

To accommodate traffic generated by this subdivision, Camino de Manana, Thornydale, and Tangerine roads will all need to be widened, according to the developer. There is also talk of an interchange being built at Linda Vista and I-10 to further future accommodate residents.

While the developer touts this development as a unique and excellent example of land stewardship and habitat conservation, the amount of disturbance necessary to complete a project like this will be absolutely disastrous for the pygmy owl. Besides the construction directly associated with the development of a subdivision, this project will necessitate additional and significant development of currently non-existent infrastructure in the area to accommodate all the people who will live in the 440 homes, which will make it easier and more desirable to continue to develop in this area in the future.

This is a textbook example of a bad precedent, and we need to do all we can to stop it. Please attend this meeting and oppose this upzoning, and lets make sure Marana knows they are being watched!

***MARANA ANNEXING CRITICAL HABITAT ON NORTHWEST SIDE*** Marana has asked the state land department for permission to annex 42 square miles of the northwest side, adjacent to and including the Tortolita Mountains. About three-quarters of the proposed annexation area, or 32.2 square miles, lies within federally declared critical habitat for the pygmy owl in the Tortolita foothills, and much of the land also lies inside Pima County’s proposed million-acre Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan reserve. Additionally, nearly 2 square miles of the proposed annexation land lies inside the still-disputed town of Tortolita.

Eighty percent of the land is under the State Land Department, which could put Marana’s proposed annexation on a state board’s agenda by early September. Private parties, Pima County and the federal government own the balance of the annexation land, which includes more than 2,000 acres inside the county’s Tortolita Mountain Park.

State and Marana officials say they have no large-scale development plans for the choicest desert in the proposed annexation area. However, based on Marana’s history of large-scale upzonings and poor land use planning overall, this annexation is cause for considerable concern, and could potentially impact the success of the County’s Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan.

Carolyn Campbell, the Coalition’s director, said she’s also concerned that the town hasn’t yet signed on to the county’s Sonoran Desert planning effort. "To me, it sends a pretty public message that Marana is not in accord with the goals of the plan," said Campbell.

***UPCOMING MEETINGS*** There are 6 months of meetings scheduled for the citizens’ Steering Committee of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. These meetings are open to the public:

We all know the adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” A recently released Vox video about wildlife crossings demonstrates this. Grab a cup of coffee and take a look at this great introductory video about wildlife crossings, why they are so important, why we should build many more, and how they are cost-effective […]

July 10, 2017 Tomorrow morning the Pima County of Board of Supervisors will be voting on two important resolutions that support: 1) Pima County’s participation in the County Climate Coalition and specific goals and actions in alignment with the Paris Climate Agreement, and 2) important water quality protection goals. Can you attend this meeting and […]

June 7, 2017 By Kathleen Kennedy, CSDP Associate Director Did you know that mule deer, pronghorn antelope, and elk migrate hundreds of miles each year in Wyoming? Fairly recently, scientists discovered that various herds of these ungulates migrate every summer and winter. Many of them summer in Yellowstone National Park, then fan out to the north, south, east, and west […]

Do you think we should construct a new interstate in between our treasured Saguaro National Park and Ironwood Forest National Monument? The Arizona Department of Transportation and the Federal Highways Administration are currently accepting public comments (deadline is this Friday, June 2!) on proposed corridor alternatives for a new interstate between Nogales and Wickenburg. [Want to read […]

The Coalition is a fiscally sponsored project of Sky Island Alliance, a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. Contributions for the purposes of the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.